Thursday, July 16, 2009

Golly. There's no denying that Obama throws like a girl. But does anyone know WHY? I can't figure it out. He doesn't step with the same foot he throws with which look very awkward and is pretty common, I guess. Any baseball pros out there care to weigh in? I examined both Obama and Bush and can't nail anything down. I found a few things that would make one's throw awkward-looking, but Obama doesn't violate any of these:

1. Trying to throw a ball with your body facing the target, rather than rotating your shoulders and hips ninety degrees away from the target and then swinging them around in order to accelerate the ball.

3. A throw looks really bad if, as the ball leaves your hand, your wrist is "inside your elbow"—that is, your elbow joint is bent in such a way that your forearm angles back toward your body and your wrist is closer to your head than your elbow is.

4. Slow-motion film of big-league pitchers shows that when they release the ball, the throwing arm is fully extended and straight from shoulder to wrist. The combination of these three elements—head-on stance, dropped elbow, and wrist inside the elbow—mechanically dictates a pushing rather than a hurling motion, creating the familiar pattern of "throwing like a girl." -- Thanks to The Atlantic